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Steve Fenberg: Bigger than partisanship: the fossil fuel industry

By Steve Fenberg

Posted:
02/18/2017 07:40:40 PM MST

A homeowner shows a prototype Tesla battery system that powers his Foster City, Calif. home in this 2015 photo. The homeowner paired the battery with his solar panels as part of a pilot program run by the California Public Utilities Commission to test home battery performance. (Jeff Chiu / AP)

It's not every day that a Democrat from Boulder and a Republican from Berthoud team up to introduce a bill about energy, but that's exactly what I did recently in the state legislature. And as even further proof that politics can lead to strange bedfellows, we had support from both the Independence Institute, a libertarian think-tank, and the reliably left-leaning Sierra Club.

The legislation I introduced, with support from cosponsor Kevin Lundberg (R-Berthoud), was Senate Bill 89, which would have established a consumer's right to install battery storage in the home without burdensome utility requirements.

Spoiler alert: Even with bipartisan support, the bill died in committee by a vote of 4-3 after an intense lobbying campaign led by Xcel Energy. As it turns out, an even more challenging paradigm to break than partisan politics may be the fossil fuel industry's stranglehold on the political system itself.

With increased storage capacities and rapidly dropping costs, simple and cost-effective electricity storage systems — like the Tesla Powerwall — are finally coming within reach of regular Colorado consumers. However, one big barrier is still keeping Coloradans from being able to take advantage of this exciting innovation: overreaching monopoly energy companies that use expensive fees and invasive regulations to discourage consumers from installing storage systems. According to at least one local battery installer who testified in support of the bill, these unnecessary regulations can add $3,000 or more to the costs and often complicate what is otherwise a straightforward installation.

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That's a shame because these battery systems can offer huge advantages to both consumers and the climate. When peak pricing becomes a reality, ratepayers who invest in storage can charge their batteries during off peak (read: cheap) times for use during high peak (read: expensive) times.

But the ability of an individual ratepayer to store power for later use is also an effective way to reduce stress on the grid, which benefits all ratepayers. For instance, a small percentage of the population investing in storage could result in utilities no longer needing to build "peaker" plants that are only turned on for a few days (or hours) per year for those most energy-intensive days in July. This saves money for all ratepayers and is an important step towards transitioning to an energy system less reliant on fossil fuels.

It doesn't take an economist to realize that this also reduces something else — profits for the investor-owned utility. And that's why, according to the latest lobbyist disclosure report, this bill received attention from at least 52 registered lobbyists at the Capitol.

Senate Bill 89 would have directed the Public Utilities Commission to review Xcel Energy's storage rules and ensure they are simple, streamlined, and not discriminatory or cost-prohibitive. But for now — even with dozens of engineers, consumers, and small businesses testifying in committee about how the current rules serve only to inhibit widespread adoption — there won't be any such review of Xcel's rules.

There is too much at stake to allow Xcel's profits to stand in the way of game-changing technology that could put us on the right path to controlling our energy future. But, as we've learned time and time again, those who play the game don't always want the game to change.

Steve Fenberg is a state senator from Senate District 18, which includes Boulder, Lyons, Nederland, and Niwot. He lives in Boulder.

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